Just Write! Explore your craft and generate ideas through writing. These writing activities may or may not lead to an essay. Through these various writing activities you may stumble upon an idea, break through a writing block, try something different, try on a different voice, take a few risks with your writing. Give yourself permission to write without criticism. Turn off the internal editor and stretch your creative muscles. While we may not be able to do all of these activities during our week together, you are free to try a few on your own time. Select some of your short compositions to post to your wiki page. No Ideas But in Things Consider the poem by William Carlos Williams and his line "No ideas but in things" where ideas are the exposition, the information, in our writing and the things are the vivid descriptions, the interactions and dialogue with others, the sensory details, the connection to the human condition. Take his advise and show the reader your ideas through examples and details. Dont' just tell me you had a thrilling experience on a rollercoaster; take me on the ride with you. Don't just give me advice on success; show me what it looks like if I don't follow it or if I do. Use metaphor, simile, and analogy to make a point. Tap into your own sensory experiences to connect to your reader and share your ideas. Read the poem and complete the exercise below it.
A SORT OF A SONG by William Carlos Williams Let the snake wait under his weed and the writing be of words, slow and quick, sharp to strike, quiet to wait, sleepless. ---through metaphor to reconcile the people and the stones. Compose. (No ideas but in things) Invent! Saxifrage is my flower that splits the rocks.
Walkabout Collection Take your composition book and pen outside. As you walk around, take notice of things: sounds, observations, words on buildings or statues, the feeling of the air, the sun, the breeze. Collect your observations; write them down in a list. Be as specific as possible. Use your zoom lens to write your observations from different cinematic angles: aerial, establishing shot, middle distance, close up, and extreme close up. With your list, create an original piece of prose or poetry. You may start with I see, I hear, I touch, I remember, etc.
Writing Exercise: Sense Memories In class, we'll do this activity with something tangible, but you can recreate it at home. The idea is not to simply describe an object, sound, sense, etc., but to let the experience transport you to a prior experience, memory, or connect you to some other idea. For example, you may hear the sound of an ocean wave and you are reminded of a trip to the beach or perhaps it just reminds you of the vacation you took in the mountains, far from the beach. It doesn't matter where it takes you; just let it trigger a memory or idea for writing. Plan to write for 5 minutes for each of the 5 senses. Follow the free writing rules: don't censor yourself, don't cross out, take risks, keep writing.
Sense memory objects:
baby blanket
stuffed teddy bear
baby shoes
rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme, basil, garlic
vanilla, coffee
sand, silly putty, cotton balls
jelly beans
Sounds: a song, lullaby, classical music, ocean waves, cars honking, screeching tires, wind in the trees, snow, sleet, hail, laughing baby, playground sounds - swings, slide, etc.
Images
Photo: A pathway covered in red autumn leaves in a German forest
Journal Writing Prompts:
Take us on a walk through your hometown or neighborhood. How did growing up there help shape you into the kind of person you are today?
Find a photograph or take a picture of something that is important to you. What is its significance?
Andy Warhol said that in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. Describe your fifteen minutes of fame.
What is the best advice you never took?
What is the best advice you ever followed?
What musical piece would be your theme song? Why does it represent who you are?
You may find the beginnings of a personal essay through one or more of these prompts or exercises.
Mentor Text:
Read this blog post by Rick Steves and find the thread. How does Rick stay connected to an idea in his piece? Consider your travels with family or friends. As you write, what emerges? What is the thread?
Hi from Rick: My Dutch Sense of Herring
Dear Traveler,
Last month I spent four days in a driving rain in the Netherlands — amazed at the fun I was having. What made it so was being out in the weather with locals. They'd say, "We're from Holland, rain doesn't keep us in!" And I'd say, "Tell me about it, I'm from Seattle."
When I look at this photo (at the Zuiderzeemuseum, an hour north of Amsterdam), I remember how that hot, greasy little fish was part of a big, beautiful ensemble of sensory experiences: huddling around the big old herring steamer and smelling the sea in its fumes; listening to the deep, Dutch accent of the fisherman and feeling grounded in the turf that was reclaimed by the hard work and ingenuity of his forefathers; and then walking with my herring-breath around a centuries-old windmill in action (careful to give the swinging blades a wide berth) to witness the venerable Archimedes screw powering water up from one pond to another higher one.
A trip to Europe is spiced with vivid little moments like these. In this month’s Travel News we can help get you started, with articles on the ins and outs of renting a car, the pleasures of eating in Spain, and the quirks of my favorite oddball museums. You’ll also find a travel forum discussion on when not to say "Ciao!" in Italy, my video on working windmills, and all the skinny on our just-launched early-season 2015 tours (book now and save $100 per seat).
I'll be eating herring with a view of the Zuiderzee again next week — this time with my film crew. Even if it's sunny, we'll have a fun time pulling out the stops to bring a new TV season of great European experiences back home to you.
But you really should visit here first and watch the TV show later. That way the herring-breath won’t be up to your imagination.
Happy travels,
Rick
Explore your craft and generate ideas through writing. These writing activities may or may not lead to an essay. Through these various writing activities you may stumble upon an idea, break through a writing block, try something different, try on a different voice, take a few risks with your writing. Give yourself permission to write without criticism. Turn off the internal editor and stretch your creative muscles. While we may not be able to do all of these activities during our week together, you are free to try a few on your own time. Select some of your short compositions to post to your wiki page.
No Ideas But in Things
Consider the poem by William Carlos Williams and his line "No ideas but in things" where ideas are the exposition, the information, in our writing and the things are the vivid descriptions, the interactions and dialogue with others, the sensory details, the connection to the human condition. Take his advise and show the reader your ideas through examples and details. Dont' just tell me you had a thrilling experience on a rollercoaster; take me on the ride with you. Don't just give me advice on success; show me what it looks like if I don't follow it or if I do. Use metaphor, simile, and analogy to make a point. Tap into your own sensory experiences to connect to your reader and share your ideas. Read the poem and complete the exercise below it.
A SORT OF A SONG by William Carlos Williams
Let the snake wait under
his weed
and the writing
be of words, slow and quick, sharp
to strike, quiet to wait,
sleepless.
---through metaphor to reconcile
the people and the stones.
Compose. (No ideas
but in things) Invent!
Saxifrage is my flower that splits
the rocks.
Walkabout Collection
Take your composition book and pen outside. As you walk around, take notice of things: sounds, observations, words on buildings or statues, the feeling of the air, the sun, the breeze. Collect your observations; write them down in a list. Be as specific as possible. Use your zoom lens to write your observations from different cinematic angles: aerial, establishing shot, middle distance, close up, and extreme close up.
With your list, create an original piece of prose or poetry. You may start with I see, I hear, I touch, I remember, etc.
Writing Exercise: Sense Memories
In class, we'll do this activity with something tangible, but you can recreate it at home. The idea is not to simply describe an object, sound, sense, etc., but to let the experience transport you to a prior experience, memory, or connect you to some other idea. For example, you may hear the sound of an ocean wave and you are reminded of a trip to the beach or perhaps it just reminds you of the vacation you took in the mountains, far from the beach. It doesn't matter where it takes you; just let it trigger a memory or idea for writing. Plan to write for 5 minutes for each of the 5 senses. Follow the free writing rules: don't censor yourself, don't cross out, take risks, keep writing.
Sense memory objects:
Journal Writing Prompts:
You may find the beginnings of a personal essay through one or more of these prompts or exercises.
Mentor Text:
Read this blog post by Rick Steves and find the thread. How does Rick stay connected to an idea in his piece? Consider your travels with family or friends. As you write, what emerges? What is the thread?Hi from Rick: My Dutch Sense of Herring
Dear Traveler,Last month I spent four days in a driving rain in the Netherlands — amazed at the fun I was having. What made it so was being out in the weather with locals. They'd say, "We're from Holland, rain doesn't keep us in!" And I'd say, "Tell me about it, I'm from Seattle."
When I look at this photo (at the Zuiderzeemuseum, an hour north of Amsterdam), I remember how that hot, greasy little fish was part of a big, beautiful ensemble of sensory experiences: huddling around the big old herring steamer and smelling the sea in its fumes; listening to the deep, Dutch accent of the fisherman and feeling grounded in the turf that was reclaimed by the hard work and ingenuity of his forefathers; and then walking with my herring-breath around a centuries-old windmill in action (careful to give the swinging blades a wide berth) to witness the venerable Archimedes screw powering water up from one pond to another higher one.
A trip to Europe is spiced with vivid little moments like these. In this month’s Travel News we can help get you started, with articles on the ins and outs of renting a car, the pleasures of eating in Spain, and the quirks of my favorite oddball museums. You’ll also find a travel forum discussion on when not to say "Ciao!" in Italy, my video on working windmills, and all the skinny on our just-launched early-season 2015 tours (book now and save $100 per seat).
I'll be eating herring with a view of the Zuiderzee again next week — this time with my film crew. Even if it's sunny, we'll have a fun time pulling out the stops to bring a new TV season of great European experiences back home to you.
But you really should visit here first and watch the TV show later. That way the herring-breath won’t be up to your imagination.
Happy travels,
Rick